As a parent most people use their camera to record the history and memories of their children. “Sit still! I want to take your picture.” How many times did we hear that when we were kinds? Now, how many times do we say it when we want that great portrait of our children? We need to take a tip from them. Watch them at play, constant motion, never still with both feet on the ground. They are flurries of activity, climbing, jumping, rolling on the ground. We must do the same! We get stuck so often in trying to stand still and hold the camera steady that we miss some great images. Or, they all look the same because they are all shot from the same level. The eye level of how tall we are.

This first images is of my daughter at Central Park in MN; right behind my house. To get it I had to jump up off my feet, climb on top of those old monkey bars, roll into position and cheer her on to keep going and going as my Camera clicked away, my lens zooming in and out to get the monkey bars to lead into the rung framing her face. I had to keep monitoring the spring clouds that kept giving me nice soft light. My legs staining tight around the bars to keep me from falling off. I was a flurry of activity to get that shot!

Climb up to get a more dynamic perspective, or if laying on the ground works better do that. In Image 2 (below) I had to lay flat on the ground in order to “de-clutter” the background so there was nothing but clouds and sky behind my other daughter.

Let the kids play, we should do the work. The smiles will be bigger and more natural at play than when they are asked to sit still and sit up straight or look here…etc. They′re doing all the “work” that way and we′re just clicking a button. So, take a tip from the kids, be active.